Amy Dolenz in ‘Miracle Beach’ — the dream girl nobody saw
Ami Dolenz co-starred in 1989’s “She’s Out of Control,” a movie that prompted Gene Siskel to reveal, “I became so depressed I actually thought about quitting my job as a film critic.”
C’mon, Gene.
“Control” probably shouldn’t have been a feature film. It’s a typical sitcom plot — Dad unwilling to let his beautiful daughter age into a young woman — starring a bona fide sitcom dad, Tony Danza. It is confused as to its target audience. It probably got made because of the perceived dual attraction of teens going to see it for Dolenz, and grownups going to see it for Danza.
It’s actually a very important rite of passage — Daddy’s Girl is entering the age of dating, and boys are definitely interested. For many people, that’s not a bad problem. But it’s drama.
Siskel, who maybe was having a bad day for his show taping, for some reason calls the movie “trashy,” but it’s not trashy. He says he found it “a depressing experience” and no less than a “sinkhole of tawdry values,” apparently because Dolenz dons a racy outfit.
Roger Ebert apparently agrees, stating, “I know what you felt.”
Danza and Dolenz are the right actors. It’s not a sinkhole. It’s not particularly good ... but it shouldn’t make anyone depressed.
A later Dolenz film, “Miracle Beach,” on the other hand, is not going to make anyone depressed. Quite the opposite. It’s a stunning example of how Hollywood can take a perfect concept and render it direct to video.
Dolenz in the mid-’80s was emerging in Hollywood with TV roles. She is the daughter of two famous parents, Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees and BBC “Top of the Pops” presenter Samantha Juste. People could debate for days whether Ami or her mother is more beautiful. Ami even has a beautiful middle name: Bluebell.
She might look like a native Southern Californian, but this is a very rare international life that is, fortunately or unfortunately, surely more interesting than any movie. According to online accounts, Dolenz has spent considerable time in California, Mexico, Britain and Canada.
The modeling world, in which Ami and her mother would thrive, is fickle ... but not even in the same stratosphere of fickledom as acting. There just aren’t nearly enough roles for everyone who might be good at it. Ami’s most famous film is likely 1987’s “Can’t Buy Me Love,” starring Patrick Dempsey. She is a supporting character. Starring roles followed, enough for an impressive amount of credits, even if some went straight to video, or nearly straight to video.
One of those was 1992’s “Miracle Beach.” In a case of lightning striking, someone had to walk into an office and say, “I’ve got an idea — Ami Dolenz appears as a genie on a beach and grants a guy’s every wish, hoping she can date him.”
Even better than Bo Derek running in “10.”
Only Hollywood could blow this.
It did.
Kinda.
“Miracle Beach” co-stars Dean Cameron as Scotty. You quite possibly haven’t heard of him (he’s from Morrison, Ill., the Mustangs), but he is prolific to this day.
He’s also funny. His punch lines give “Miracle Beach” an early spark. His job is to be the lovable buffoon, pining for an ice queen while somehow not even noticing that The Girl Of Anyone’s Dreams is desperate to get his attention. There’s also some serious heft in the supporting cast — Martin Mull, Pat Morita, Allen Garfield, future Superman Dean Cain.
The problem is with some of the others in the supporting cast — pageant contestants who appear topless, often in a bed somewhere. Sometimes, however witty (Miss Kuwait clashes with Miss Iraq), “Miracle Beach” feels like watching late-night Cinemax. At some point, a film has to decide whether it’s going to be “Pretty Woman” or “Porky’s.” Heart or raunch. If you’ve got the former, please skip the latter.
“Miracle Beach,” written by Scott Bindley and directed by Skott Snider (probably not a coincidence that our lead actor is named Scotty, nor that Dolenz’s character is “Jeanie” but not spelled “Genie”), has other flaws. It dilutes Scotty’s adventures by wasting time on his goofy friends, and by remaining true to its questionable title. The beach has nothing to do with the miracle, the term “miracle” generally is not associated with bikini dramas, and the frequency of beds showing up on the beach, generally with topless women in them, just gets weird.
Snider’s credits mostly list Playboy material. “Miracle Beach” was the first credit for Bindley, whose brother William is an associate producer of “Miracle Beach” and remains quite active. Scott’s characters may need a nudge to do the right thing, but Scott Bindley is a major fundraiser for the Phoenix Children’s Integrative Medicine program.
The title of “Miracle Beach” could involve potential copyright issues with TV’s “I Dream of Jeannie” (“Jeannie” spelled slightly differently than the movie). The movie’s character is named Jeanie and she turns up on Earth in a bottle and she wears an outfit that is not the same as Barbara Eden’s, but still, it’s a genie costume. If the movie title or poster implies anything that looks or sounds like the TV show, rights holders might have an objection.
Bindley and Snider are too obsessed with pageant contestants. Their script lacks comic ambition. Instead of just taking orders for an hour, Jeanie should be finding herself in cute mishaps as she figures out this world. On TV, Eden would often act impulsively before consulting, exasperating Master. Dolenz’s Jeanie could help kids build a sand castle but smother everyone with sand. She could mistake a beach film set for a real crisis.
Maybe most important for a movie such as this, Jeanie and Scotty could find themselves in a crisis in which he needs to rescue her. She leans on him about doing the right thing, and they realize they’re meant for each other.
A curious decision is the poster. The goal might be to Avoid Looking Like “I Dream of Jeannie” As Much As Possible. The poster shows four guys ogling Felicity Waterman, who is Scotty’s initial love interest and the villain who (through no fault of her own, really) stands in the way of what the viewers hope to see. There is no indication of Dolenz in this picture nor even that the movie is about a beautiful genie. Perhaps Waterman had some contractual guarantee about the poster, or the distributors were aiming for the element of surprise.
Dolenz is adorable just in genie outfit (the costumes chief is Julia Schklair), then devastating. The movie is flagging late when Bindley and Snider deliver their own miracle — a twist to put Dolenz in a bikini so suddenly, your jaw will drop, and remain dropped, and the final 15 minutes will be one of direct to video’s greatest appreciations of beauty — within, as well as what we see on the outside.
Why didn’t Dolenz achieve greater stardom from this movie or others? Her ledger is full of comedies and horror movies, a lot of material that would be called “B” works. The guess is that her top paycheck came from “She’s Out of Control,” perhaps in the $500K range, and that she may have made a couple hundred thou for “Miracle Beach.” Maybe her agent made the wrong calls. For whatever reason, she isn’t in heavier drama, aspirational films like “Leaving Las Vegas,” “Thelma & Louise,” “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Rounders.” Perhaps she is too much Girl Next Door. Dolenz has, compared with other film actresses, a high voice that may be regarded as better-suited for younger characters. She is not tall. It’s a fickle industry.
Sometimes, pop culture magic happens where you don’t expect it. The people behind “Miracle Beach” didn’t know what they had. For those who stuck through the ups and downs to reach the last 15 minutes, wish granted.
3 stars
(April 2026)
“Miracle Beach” (1992)
Cast:
Ami Dolenz as
Jeanie ♦
Dean Cameron as
Scotty ♦
Felicity Waterman as
Dana ♦
Brian Perry as
Soup ♦
Alexis Arquette as
Lars ♦
Pat Morita as
Gus ♦
Allen Garfield as
Magnus O’Leary ♦
Martin Mull as
Donald Burbank ♦
Vincent Schiavelli as
Mystic ♦
Johnny Cocktails as
Mac ♦
Cecile Krevoy as
Scotty’s Mother ♦
Frances Buchsbaum as
Scotty’s Grandmother ♦
Jim Miller as
Jim Miller ♦
Chuck Aronberg as
Murray ♦
Kathleen Beaton as
Woman at Party ♦
Victoria Duffy as
Woman at Party ♦
Danny Benjamin as
Writer ♦
Jackie Berglund as
Flower Vendor ♦
Mark Blutman as
Bernie ♦
Dean Cain as
Volleyball Player #1 ♦
Larry Carroll as
TV Announcer ♦
Gregory Bruno Coon as
Rebel Rocker ♦
Rock Deadrick as
Rebel Rocker ♦
Deborah Morton as
Rebel Rocker ♦
Eric Morton as
Rebel Rocker ♦
Mike Rogers as
Rebel Rocker ♦
Mike Doman as
Kenny Battlerod ♦
Brenton Earley as
Man at Party ♦
Larry Rothchild as
Man at Party ♦
Chris Townsend as
Man at Party ♦
Gene Loque as
Man at Party ♦
Eric ‘Sparky’ Edwards as
Hot Dog Vendor ♦
Ross Fleming as
Dorf ♦
Lawrence Forsdick as
Guy in Restaurant ♦
Collene Frashure as
Girl in Pool ♦
Monique Gabriel as
Cindy Beatty ♦
Ledyard G. Gardiner III as
G.I. Commercial ♦
Cheryl Gentry as
Hawaiian Tropic Girl ♦
Darshell Stevens as
Hawaiian Tropic Girl ♦
Peggy Farney as
Hawaiian Tropic Girl ♦
Danny Gil as
Lifeguard ♦
Gary Grant as
Gary Grant ♦
Michelle Grassmick as
Miss Great Britain ♦
Peter Heilbron as
Boy on Street ♦
Kathryn Heilbron as
Girl on Street ♦
Medora Heilbron as
Aunt of Boy and Girl ♦
Leslie Heilbron as
Mother of Boy and Girl ♦
Hiroko as
Miss Japan ♦
Phil Krevoy as
Volleyball Player #2 ♦
Sydney Lassick as
Tooth Fairy ♦
Morrie Lubeznik as
Santa Claus ♦
Jennifer McCloskey as
Miss Greenland ♦
Dawn Morgan as
Miss Chile ♦
Michael Rapport as
Charlie Mong ♦
Ron Rice as
Ron Rice ♦
Jerry Spicer as
Trendy Guy ♦
Lisa Star as
Miss Iraq ♦
Mario Tamayo as
Maitre D’ ♦
Mark Thurman as
Beefy Guy ♦
Brittany York as
Girl in Bed
Directed by: Skott Snider
Written by: Scott Bindley
Producer: Steven Stabler
Producer: Brad Krevoy
Co-producer: Brad Jenkel
Associate producer: William Bindley
Associate producer: David Bixler
Associate producer: Rusty Gorman
Associate producer: Ann Narus
Line producer: Tracie Graham
Music: Eric Allaman
Cinematography: Bernard Salzmann
Editing: Emma E. Hickox
Casting: Ed Mitchell, Robin Rai
Production design: Gary Randall
Art direction: Paul Miller
Set decoration: Amy Beth Ancona
Costumes: Julia Schklair
Makeup and hair: Maria Theologitis, Christina Bartolucci, Judd Douglas Minter
Stunts: BJ Davis, Eddie Braun, Jon C. Pochron, Keith Woulard
